Donating to any charity is a big decision. Regardless of how much disposable income you have spare you have earned the money and choosing to share it to support others is a generous option.
Of course, whether you choose to donate to cancer research or prefer to support something closer to home, such as supporting Surf Life Saving Foundation, you’ll want to be confident that your money is going to be used wisely.
Start By Checking Their Stats
The first thing you should do is find out what your chosen charity does with the money. They should have a breakdown on their website showing the funds they have collected and how much has been spent on equipment and other supplies to advance their cause.
The greater the percentage of funds that are used for the intended cause the better. After all, while all organizations have overheads, you don’t want all the money you donate simply to help with the running costs of the charity.
If the figures aren’t available on their website then ask them, they should be able to tell you. If they can’t, you need to question if this is the right organization to be giving money to.
Increase Your Donation
It may seem obvious but an effective way to make your donation achieve more is to donate more. However, this doesn’t need to leave you more out of pocket. After all, everyone has a budget they need to live within.
The best option is to streamline your donations. Focus on just one or two charities that you wish to support and channel your funds to them. Your overall donations won’t increase but specific charities will get more than they currently do.
Offer Your Services
A great way to ensure that funds are being used properly inside an organization, and to make sure the charity is doing the intended job, is to volunteer for them. This will allow you to see how they work from the inside out.
As a bonus, it will ensure your donation is more valuable as you’ll be physically helping out. This is especially relevant if you choose Surf Life Savers as you can actually help on the beaches and save lives. Of course, if you prefer you can volunteer behind the scenes.
Boost their Profile
The biggest problem charities face is insufficient funds. Their overheads remain fairly static which means that increased donations equate to increased aid for the chosen cause.
In other words, you can help your charity perform better and make sure your donation does as much as possible if you promote the charity.
Put simply, make sure as many people as possible know about the charity, what it does, and how it makes a difference. If you tell enough people more will donate and every donation will allow the charity to accomplish more; In short, the additional donations can literally save lives.
Don’t forget to check any tax breaks you may be allowed for donating. If you can save tax you can pass this directly onto the charity and ensure they have more money to achieve their goals.
